Risk Management Nurse Jobs And How To Get Them

Nursing, on its own, is already a challenging job. If you feel like the demands of the job aren’t enough, it’s probably right that you find a specialty that can challenge you to grow and be flexible.

If you enjoy challenges and ongoing change, then risk management nursing is the right fit for you. If you want to know what it takes to be one and how you can apply for the job, make sure to read this article until the end.

What Do Risk Management Nurses Do?

One of your most essential tasks as a risk management nurse involves delivering safe and trusted healthcare. You need to develop a trusting relationship with your patients and their families so you can guide them throughout their treatment plan.

Nurse risk managers are expected to keep their patients and their families as updated as possible about the adverse outcomes of their medical choices. That is, of course, without jeopardizing or compromising the welfare of the hospital.

Take, for example, a patient who suddenly terminated his treatment plan. As a nurse risk manager, it will be your duty to assess the situation of the patient and to let him know the possible consequences of his decisions. You must work on controlling the financial and physical issues that relate to both the patient and the hospital.

You need to have an advanced knowledge of modern procedures and practices, too. This is important so you’d know what to tell your patients to expect. This will also help you recognize risks and problems easily.

A nurse risk management nurse’s role isn’t limited to their patients. At times, you can also be responsible for scheduling the nursing staff. You’ll mentor and supervise their work as necessary.

In an overview, a nurse risk management nurse’s job is specific to where she is employed. In most cases, the job can also include the following:

Risk financing

Management of the psychological and human factors in the health care setting

Handling general, business, and financial aspects

Incident and event management

Claims and insurance management

Overseeing day to day operations of the institution’s risk management programs

Ensuring that all services provided by the institution comply with federal regulatory

requirements

Examining and assessing data to find out potential loss

Creating, implementing and evaluating risk management programs for the institution

These tasks, of course, will depend on your educational background. If you lack the necessary skills, you can either be trained through education or by practice.

Where To Find Risk Management Nurse Jobs?

When it comes to finding the jobs, you actually have dozens of options. The position is available in a wide range of settings and organizations.

Apart from hospitals and clinics, you can also work as a risk management nurse in the following settings:

Consulting firms

Pharmaceuticals

Government agencies

Hospice

Long term care

Office surgeries

Ambulatory care

Insurance brokers and carriers

How To Be A Risk Management Nurse

One of the things you’ll be required to have is a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Some employers, however, require applicants to have a master’s degree. Courses in nursing, like behavioral science, psychology and pharmacology count, too.

You also have to be a licensed nurse before you can work. Requirements for licensing will depend on the state you are going to work in. In some places, risk management nursing is considered to be an administrative job which means you may have to undergo further state licensing procedures.

If you want to advance your career, you may need to take additional continuing education. This can include health care risk management programs and other interdisciplinary training that involve law, management, and nursing. Continuing education is necessary, too, if you want to maintain your license.

Required Skills

Apart from those requirements, you also need to have the right skills to excel in the job. Quite frankly, if you want to survive as a nurse, you have to be smarter than your textbooks.

For the job, you need to have great planning and coordination skills. You have to be able to work well individually or as part of a team. Performing well in extremely stressful situations and remaining calm under intense pressure should be included in your traits, too.

Once hired, you need to have a good understanding of the policies of your hospital. You’ll spend a good amount of time doing staff meetings, training employees and evaluating programs. With so many things to do, having good time management skills is crucial.

Risk Management Nurse Salary

On average, a risk management nurse can earn around $73,000 per year. Entry level nurses can earn 9% below the average while experienced nurses can earn 4% higher than that.